Following the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe introduced the new redesigned
Bf-109F, with a more powerful engine giving improved performance over the
BF-109E. The RAF had been working on a new development of the Spitfire, the
Spitfire IV, which would be powered by the new Griffon engine. However, the
engine was not developed to the point where it could be introduced on
operations. Thus, the Spitfire V was created as a “stop-gap” to counter the
Bf-109F. Basically a Mk. I/II airframe with strengthened longerons to take
the increased power of a Merlin 45 producing 1,450 h.p., a considerable
increase from the Merlin III’s 1,030 h.p.

The first Spitfire Vs
went to 92 Squadron in February 1941. Fortunately, the widespread introduction
of the Bf-109F had been delayed because of flutter problems created by
insufficient strengthening of the rear fuselage for the unbraced horizontal
stabilizer. The Luftwaffe soldiered on with the Bf-109E in the majority of
their Channel Front units until the early summer of 1941, by which time the
Spitfire V was well on its way to replacing the earlier marks of Spitfire.
This was largely accomplished by the fall of 1941. Eventually, the Spitfire V
would become the most-produced Spitfire sub-type, and with its offspring - the
Merlin-61 powered Spitfire IX - these two “interim” types would be produced in
larger numbers than all the rest of the series combined.

At about the same time the Spitfire V became the main type equipping Fighter
Command, the first Fw-190s were introduced by JG 26. The Fw-190A would
completely outclass the Spitfire V on all performance parameters other than
turning radius, but the type flew on until late 1943 before completely
disappearing from the Channel Front. It would see service on every front the
RAF and Commonwealth Air Forces fought during the Second World War.

The Kosciusko
Squadron in the RAF:

The first squadron of the Polish Air Force formed within the RAF was 303
Squadron, named “Kosciusko” in honour of the famous Kosciusko
Squadron formed by American volunteers (one of whose leading lights, Merian C.
Cooper, is better known to history for having created “King Kong”) which
fought during the Polish-Soviet War in 1920. The unit was formed July 22,
1940, at Northolt with pilots from 111 “Kosciusko”
and 112 “Warszawa” squadrons of the Polish Air Force, who had escaped from
Poland after its defeat, and from France after the German attack. 303 was
formally commanded by S/Ldr Ronald Kellet, with F/Lt John Kent and F/Lt Athol
Forbes, commanders of “A” and “B” Flights respectively. The Polish commander
was S/Ldr Krasnodebski with F/Lt Urbanowicz and F/Lt Opulski as flight
leaders. The British command was due to RAF fear that the Poles - unused to
modern high-performance aircraft and the ground controlled interception system
developed by Fighter Command.

The unit did not
enter combat until September 2, 1940, at which point the Poles more than
proved their worth, with 303 becoming one of the most successful RAF squadrons
of the entire Battle of Britain in the five weeks they flew against the
Luftwaffe. In their first week of combat they scored more than 20victories
without loss. Most Polish pilots were generally older than their British
counterparts and had hundreds of hours of flying time in a variety of planes,
as well as combat experience in both Poland and France. Unlike the RAF, they
had not been trained to rely on a sophisticated radio and radar network. As a
result, said one British flight instructor, "their understanding and handling
of aircraft was exceptional." While they understood the value of tools like
radio and radar, the Poles never stopped using their eyes to locate the
Luftwaffe. "Whereas British pilots are trained.. . to go exactly where they
are told, Polish pilots are always turning and twisting their heads to spot a
distant enemy," an RAF flier noted.

Additionally, British pilots were taught to fly and fight with caution and were
instructed to open fire on the enemy at a distance of not less than 150 yards.
The Poles, by contrast, had been trained to use their planes the way a
cavalryman uses his horse - to crowd and intimidate the enemy, make him flinch,
and then bring him down. After firing a brief opening burst at a range of 150 to
200 yards, the Poles would close to almost point-blank range. "When they go
tearing into enemy bombers and fighters, they get so close you would think they
were going to collide," observed Athol Forbes. Only then would the Poles open
fire, which, as Forbes noted, "will cut chunks out of any part of a German
bomber and generally disable it in one attack."

In
mid-October 1940, 303 was withdrawn to Yorkshire for defensive duties, returning
to Northolt in January 1941 where they re-equipped with Spitfires and eventually
became part of The Polish Wing under the leadership of Wing Commander John A.
Kent flying offensive sweeps over France. In July 1941 303 moved to Speke,
returning south in October to resume offensive operations.

The 1942 season began
in April, with 303 again at Northolt, flying nearly-daily cross-Channel sweeps.
On May 25, Jan Zumbach - an 8-victory Battle of Britain ace - took command of
303. On June 5, during an afternoon escort mission, F/O Gladych, P/O
Szelestowski and Sgt Stasik each shot down an Fw-190 without loss. By June 15,
303 had flown 16 full-strength operational sorties, not counting several air-sea
rescues and interceptions. On June 15, 303 moved to Kirton-in-Lindsey, where
they remained until being send to Redhill on August 15 with the rest of the
Polish units. On August 19, the Poles participated in Operation Jubilee, the
Dieppe raid, where 303 flew four missions that day.

Zumbach
was replaced as Squadron CO on December 1, by S/Ldr Bienkowski, after increasing
his score from 8 to 13.5 during the combat the unite had seen under his
command. After flying escort missions for American bombers during the early
months of 1943, 303 returned to 11 Group in March 1943, re-equipping with the
Spitfire IX that summer. By the time they were sent for a rest in Northern
Ireland that November, they had shot down their 250th and last
victory, making them the most successful of the Polish squadrons that flew with
the RAF during the Second World War.

After the war, Zumbach
returned to Poland, but escaped in 1947 after the communist government assumed
power. In 1961, he formed the air force for the short-lived breakaway Republic
of Katanga in the former Belgian Congo, which he led with other Polish
mercenaries until 1965. He died in 1986 and is buried in Warsaw.

THE KIT

The
Hasegawa1/32 Spitfire first appeared in the late 1980s. It has been re-released
over the years in several guises. The most recent being the “USAAF” version,
which has markings for a Spitfire Vc with the Vokes filter flown by the 52nd
Fighter Group in North Africa, and a standard Spitfire Vb flown by Don Gentile
with the 4th Fighter Group in the fall of 1942.

While the kit has raised-line panel detail, it is quite accurate in outline and
dimensions, with good fabric effect on the rudder and elevators. The cockpit
has adequate detail, though the seat does not have the padded back. Both the
early and late windscreens are provided.

CONSTRUCTION

Construction was really quite simple. I have been very surprised by the fit of
these 1970s-era Hasegawa 1/32 kits like this, the Zero, the P-12 and the P-26,
all of which go together much easier than Hasegawa’s 1/48 and 1/72 kits from the
same period.

I
used some Evergreen dowel to create the ribbed leather back pad for the seat,
which was the only modification I did to the kit other than to rescribe panel
detail. I also made seatbelts from lead foil taken from a wine bottle.

Assembly was straightforward, though I needed to fill large sink areas on bother
upper wing parts where the lower flap caused shrinkage in the mold. Other than
that, I only needed Mr. Surfacer on the fuselage centerline seam and the upper
wing-to-fuselage joint.

COLORS & MARKINGS

Painting:

The model was painted with Xtracrylix RAF Ocean Grey, Dark Green and Sea Grey
Medium, with the Sky fuselage band and prop spinner. In this size of model, I
could freehand the Dark Green over the Ocean Grey, thinning the paint and
tightening the air brush to give a narrow demarcation line with very little
overspray. This is the way the RAF painted the full-size Spitfire, as seen by
close examination of the accurately-restored Spitfire IX out at Planes of Fame,
which came from The Fighter Collection at Duxford.

When all was dry, I gave the model a coat of Xtracrylix Gloss Varnish before
proceeding to apply the decals.

Decals:

I
used the new Techmod sheet for Polish Spitfire Vbs, which provides markings for
Jan Zumbach’s EP596, which was the third and last Spitfire Vb he flew on
operations in 1942. There is frequent disagreement about these airplanes, but
they can be distinguished from each other by the size of the Donald Duck
personal marking, which is different on each, and by the scoreboard below the
windscreen.

While I have had problems before with Techmod decals exploding into pieces while
soaking in the water, these decals presented no difficulty other than they are
very thin and can be screwed up easily if not applied carefully to the surface
of the model. They snuggled down without problems under a coat of Micro-Sol.

FINAL CONSTRUCTION

I
washed the model, then gave it some moderate dings and scuffing - photos show
the airplane was well-maintained and the paint job was kept up. I applied
exhaust stains and oil stains, and then gave the model a coat of Xtracrylix
Satin Varnish, followed by two final coats of Xtracrylix Flat Varnish. I then
attached the wheels and gear
covers, propellor blades and put the canopy and side flap in the open position.

CONCLUSIONS

I
was really surprised at how good this kit is after 30 years. The only problem
is that the plastic is more brittle than one is used to dealing with on
contemporary kits. I think that as far as shape and dimensions go, this is one
of the most accurate Spitfire V kits available in any scale.